Coming off their perplexing third studio album, the aptly titled III, The Lumineers have returned with a more radio-ready sound on Brightside. On this record that feels almost like an EP, since it clocks in at just over 30 minutes over a nine-track span, the indie folk rockers relocate some of that early magic they captured on their debut record and Cleopatra, as well. This set of songs was recorded in Sun Mountain Studios by producer David Baron, with some additional producer credits by Simone Felice. What the band does best on Brightside is coming to terms with who they are as musicians and songwriters for one of their most accessible albums to date. Led by the trio of singles including the title track, “A.M. Radio,” and “Big Shot,” The Lumineers feel like they’re ready to take the next steps forward.
Kicking off the set with the thunderous title track pays off in the band’s favor, as it ends up being one of the better singles the band has released as of late. Lead singer, Wesley Schultz sets the tone nicely as he sings, “I can see it in the air / Every word was like a smoke from a cigarette / You were blowin’ in your hands / The heater broke in the Oldsmobile / And the light in your eyes / Alone on the freeway / I was stranded in the bed You were listening to The Dark Side of the Moon / I could barely see your eyes / Psilocybin in a hotel room,” before launching into a radio-ready chorus. Songs like “Brightside” remind the listener of the simple beauty of the band’s songwriting ability when they are clicking on all cylinders.
”A.M. Radio” recalls a simpler time of listening to the radio on long drives and thinking about the path that lies ahead. My favorite line from the single comes in the bridge of, “In the minivan with your headphones in / Did you write your letters to your shitty friends? / And all this time you said to me my love would never die,” which connected with me since it transformed me back to a time of one of my most memorable family vacations of going cross country with my parents and two brothers, as we passed the time sharing a Sony Walkman and a Nintendo Gameboy as we looked forward to arriving at the next National Park. The “simpler times” of being connected to music with no other distractions besides the scenery outside the car has kind of been lost along the way as of late, so I applaud The Lumineers for bringing this back to light.
The middle of the album tends to sag a little bit, with too many songs hard to distinguish between each other. “Where We Are” feels almost like a continuation of “A.M. Radio,” and more of a prelude to “Birthday.” On the latter track, Schultz sings the chorus over a bouncy beat, “It’s alright, it’s alright, it’s alright, it’s your birthday, dear / It’s alright, it’s alright, and we’re carryin’ on / And you know, and you know, and you know it’s your birthday / Every word, every word and we’re singin’ along.” The song never really takes off the way I expected it to, but luckily things start to turn around on “Big Shot.” The chorus reminded me of the classic Billy Joel song of the same name, and possibly was the inspiration behind the naming of the track. In the second verse of, “Early morning, still in bed / You hate yourself for what you said / But you could never admit you were wrong / And every song was out of key / And I was in the in-between / And then you, still all alone,” Schultz is able to hone in on the raw emotions of self-doubt and reflecting on the past with veteran ease.
Other songs towards the back half like “Never Really Mine” and the piano-laced “Rollercoaster” sound nice enough, but they don’t really cover much new ground. Add in the introspective “Remington” and “Reprise,” and Brightside seems to wrap up before it gets any real momentum behind it. What I would hope The Lumineers to capture on their subsequent releases is to revisit the up-beat tempo of Cleopatra mixed with some of the great songwriting elements found in the lyrics of this album, to create the record that will cement their status as arena headliners. I know they are capable of making it, and it’s just a matter of time until it all comes to fruition.